Good Weather For Airstrikes

NOTE: Some people have reported problems with the downloads in the comments. I believe this to be the result of both Blogger and ezarchive being down earlier today for maintenance, but it could also have to do with people playing the files on a music player that isn’t iTunes, as about half of the files are M4As (iTunes-compatible only) and not MP3s. I just went through and tested the downloads and they seem to be working now, so if problems persist please notify me in the comments. Oh, and I think I fixed the Iron & Wine formatting problem. But yeah, enjoy.

As promised, here is my final list, though unfortunately belated, of the top 25 albums I most enjoyed this year. I’m not saying necessarily that these were the best artistic accomplishments of ‘05 (if so Takk… or Illinoise would be #1), these are just the albums I enjoyed the most of this year. Be warned, a lot of people might have a problem with this list, as there’s some minor punk-emo representation, and some albums are noticeably absent (BSS’ Broken Social Scene, MMJ’s Z, Spoon’s Gimme Fiction, Of Montreal’s Sunlandic Twins), as I just didn’t ever get into them as much as everyone else despite trying as hard as I could. I’ve accompanied each album on the list with a “key track”, but I’ve chosen a song you’re less likely to have heard than the song that is the consensus best track, as I think everyone’s heard “Banquet”, “Chicago”, and “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” enough this year (alright I lied, I could never hear “Banquet” enough). Hopefully not too many of you will have a problem with my list, and I hope at the very least you can get some gems from this that you may not have heard already.

1. Silent Alarm - Bloc Party
Key Track: “So Here We Are”
Easily one of the most enjoyable debut albums of the last ten years, Silent Alarm is an incredibly listenable album from one of the UK’s hottest bands of 2005. Kele Okereke’s distinctly British wails are punctuated by Russell Lissack’s sharp and angular guitar riffs and the urgent and intense drumming of Matt Tong, who’s easily the best drummer of ‘05. Bloc Party present often-danceable, always intelligent post-punk dance-rock of the finest quality, and they’ve also been especially prolific, releaseing two EPs, their debut album, a remix album, and four singles in the last year, with work on their sophomore effort to be begun shortly (ge. The biggest knock on these four lads from London is that they’re merely a new-millenium Gang of Four rip-off, and while that may hold true on the angular call-and-return guitar riffs on the band’s hottest single, “Banquet”, a listen to the rest of the album and slower more dramatic songs like “This Modern Love” and “So Here We Are” recall a sound closer to Joy Division, and prove the Gang of Four knock-off notion otherwise. Every month of this year found me with a new favorite song (”Banquet”, “Helicopter”, “Like Eating Glass”, “Pioneers”, “So Here We Are”… the list goes on)from this album, and I am consistently astonished by my love for this album.

2. Illinoise - Sufjan Stevens
Key Track: “The Predatory Wasp”
Not enough can be said about the artistic accomplishment that is Illinoise. Sufjan Stevens took a state largely unfamiliar to him, researched its history relentlessly, and came out with a 22-song masterpiece of an album. “Chicago” and “Casimir Pulaski Day” are easily two of the best and most moving songs of the year, but the real gem is buried in the album’s slightly-lagging second half (in comparison to the immaculate first half only), Sufjan’s ballad about a lost love, “The Predatory Wasp”.

3. I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning - Bright Eyes
Key Track: “Poison Oak”
Narrowly edged out of the top two spots, Conor Oberst’s folk-american record of 2005, I’m Wide Awake, is not to be overlooked, as in any other year it could easily contend for the top spot. The fact that an album of this caliber slips all the way to number 3 is a testament to the incredibly quality of 2005’s releases. Though the entire album displays Oberst’s finest work to date, “Poison Oak” stands out as the best track of his illustrious career and one of the most moving songs I’ve ever heard. I consistently get chills every time he reaches the swelling chorus for the first time, and for a while I was actually convinced this was the single best song I had ever heard.

4. Takk… - Sigur Ros
Video: “Hoppipolla” (for some reason ezarchive never lets me upload this song, so unfortunately you’ll have to settle for downloading/watching the video instead, which is fantastic in itself).
Sigur Ros return with what is in my opinion their best album yet, eclipsing the somber tones of 2002’s ( ) and the incredible, though somewhat inaccesible, arrangements of 2000’s Ã?gætis Byrjun. Takk…, which means “Thanks” in their native Icelandic, is their must accessible album yet, though the term “accessible” is always relative when talking about Sigur Ros. In my opinion The Ros are in my opinion easily the best band in the world right now, as they’re creating and releasing the most groundbreaking and innovative music of anyone these days, and while every song on this album is special, “Hoppipolla” is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard and is probably the best song released this year, though I can’t bring myself to officially bump “Banquet” from the number one spot.

5. Plans - Death Cab For Cutie
Key Track: “Marching Bands of Manhattan”
Ah, Death Cab’s much talked-about major-label debut. After months of speculation as to the effect that the band’s recent major-label singing would have on their sound, DCFC released Plans to decent reviews and after slight initial dissappointment, I grew to love this album almost as much as their previous releases, which considering Transatlanticism’s status as one of my favorite albums of all time, is kind of a big deal (yeah, that’s a run-on sentence, what of it?). The lead-off track, “Marching Bands of Manhattan”, though not yet released as a single, is definitely the album’s highlight, though every song on the album, possibly excluding Stabilty EP re-hash “Stable Song”, is more of the fantastic DCFC-goodness you’ve come to expect.

6. Set Yourself On Fire - Stars
Key Track: “What I’m Trying To Say”
(NOTE: Set Yourself On Fire was released in Canada in 2004, but didn’t see a US release until March of this year, so it gets a spot on the list.)
My surprise album of the year had to be Stars’ Set Yourself On Fire, as it came out of nowhere to become one of my most listened to albums of 2005. My friend Alex Malkin sent this to me after I had asked him for any new music he had to recommend last February, and I immediately fell in love with album-opener “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”. However, upon first listen I was only mildly excited about the rest of the album, but when I returned to it months later I was blown away with what a complete and incredible album this was. Stars’ brand of keyboard-based blissful pop, highlighted by Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan’s and male-female dual vocals, makes for a wonderful listen, and the cathartic powers of this album (specifically songs like “Ex-Lover”, “One More Night”, and “Sleep Tonight”) are to be noted as well.

7. Twin Cinema - The New Pornographers
Key Track: “The Jessica Numbers”
Heading into 2005 I had not really been a fan of The New Pornographers, and I had actually preferred AC Newman’s solo work to the full band’s two prior releases, Mass Romantic and Electric Version. However, with Twin Cinema, The New Pornos absolutely blew me away, unleashing a near-flawless album of power-pop perfection. My enthusiasm for the album could be seen in the simple fact that songs from it appeared on three consecutive M3s (V5, Dance Dance… Dance, and V6), but for some inexplicable reason I can’t bring myself to put this higher than #7 on the list. I think I view this album more in terms of single fantastic songs rather than a cohesive album listening experience, hence it’s somewhat unfair low placement on this list. All in all though, I definitely highly recommend this album for anyone, as I’m yet to find a single person who doesn’t absolutely love most of the songs on this release.

8. Picaresque - The Decemberists
Key Track: “On The Bus Mall”
Everyone’s favorite lit-rockers Colin Meloy and The Decemberists returned in 2005 with their best release to date, Picaresque. The album’s title is wonderfully appropriate for Meloy’s wonderfully fantastical lyrics, as it means “of or relating to a genre of usually satiric prose fiction depicting in realistic, often humorous detail the adventures of a roguish hero of low social degree living by his or her wits in a corrupt society”. From politically-charged lead-single “16 Military Wives” to the incredible heartfelt ballad “The Engine Driver”, this album is start-to-finish wonderful. For me the highlight is buried at the end of the album, “On The Bus Mall”, a story of enduring companionship through the toughest of trials and tribulations as told by a runaway who perfectly encompasses the role of “roguish hero of low social degree”. Plus “Mariner’s Revenge Song” is the most fun you’ll have all year.

9. A Certain Trigger - Maximo Park
Key Track: “Apply Some Pressure”
First introduced to me as “kind of a Hot Hot Heat ripoff” by Lizzy last spring, Maximo Park grew on me so much that they actually eclipsed HHH (both pre and post-Elevator) and finish six spots above the aforementioned Canadians in this year-end albums list. Near-flawless first single, “Apply Some Pressure” is a frantic test of endurance, featuring a central guitar riff that’s catchier than anything you’ll hear all year. “Pressure” stands out as one of my favorite singles of the year, and other singles “Graffiti” and “Going Missing”, as well as standout track “Postcard of a Painting” make the album a brilliant debut, and probably the best true debut of the year (technically Bloc Party’s debut came in ‘04 with the Bloc Party EP).

10. Digital Ash In A Digital Urn - Bright Eyes
Key Track: “I Believe In Symmetry”
Though widely trashed as I’m Wide Awake’s far-inferior brother, I actually originally enjoyed Digital Ash more than its folk-Americana counterpart. Though that eventually changed drastically, I still do love Oberst’s experimentation in lo-fi electronica, and I feel like much of the criticism directed at the album is purely the result of its release coinciding with the brilliance that was and is I’m Wide Awake. If you view this album on its own, specifically incredible songs like singles “Take It Easy” and “Easy/Lucky/Free”, and album tracks “Arc of Time” and “I Believe In Symmetry”, I think you’ll find it’s better than you gave it credit for. Wrought with themes of death and mortality, Digital Ash is a remarkable tribute to the ephemeral quality of life.

11. Woman King/In The Reins - Iron & Wine/Iron & Wine + Calexico
Key Track: “Jezebel”
Key Track: “16, Maybe Less”
Though Sam Beam didn’t release a proper full-length in 2005, he was still a formidable presence, kicking off the year with the incredible Woman King and turning heads with his collaboration with Calexico, In The Reins, earlier this fall. Woman King is a compilation of songs all
playing on the female archetype (the poweful woman king, the whore, the mother, the wife, etc.), and sees Beam surrounded by much more lush instrumentation than his more sparse previous releases, and even features an electric guitar(!) on the album’s closer “Evening On The Ground”. Woman King outshines Reins, though the latter still provides us with a refreshing Southwestern take on Beam’s usually subdued instrumentation and vocals, notable for the standout track “16, Maybe Less” (as seen on M3 Volume 5).

12. Commit This To Memory - Motion City Soundtrack
Key Track: “Time Turn Fragile”
One of three non-indie entries on this list, MCS’ Commit This To Memory is a fantastic sophomore effort and vastly outshines the bands formulaic (in comparison) debut. Motion City Soundtrack’s 2002 debut, I Am The Movie, had some great moments that hinted to the band’s talent (specifically, “My Favorite Accident” and “The Future Freaks Me Out”), but their follow-up is a great album all the way through. Key tracks like “Attractive Today” and “Everything Is Alright” recall the sound established on I Am The Movie, but the band also shows maturity and evolution on slower songs like “Resolution” and the incredible pre-party-anthem-of-the-year “Let’s Get Fucked Up And Die”. However, the shining moment on the album comes towards the end with “Time Turned Fragile” an absolute pop-punk masterpiece, feature frantic catchy keyboard lines to open the song and incredible drumming in the song’s last minute, as well as possibly my favorite musical moment of the year at the “got so cold the words just froze, we had to wait ’til summer to find out what was said” part that begins at the 1:42 mark.

13. Black Sheep Boy - Okkervil River
Key Track: “Black”
Out of nowhere (for me at least), Okkervil River released a stellar album of some of the best Americana-folk you’ll hear all year (outside of Bright Eye’s I’m Wide Awake that is), centered around lead singer Will Sheff’s urgent, often frantic, vocals, which P-Fork so perfectly described as “more self-aware than Conor Oberst, more serious than Colin Meloy, more legible than Jeff Mangum” in their review of the album. The standout track is definitely “For Real”, which is easily one of the year’s best (it made both You Ain’t No Picasso and Said The Gramophone’s top 10 lists - follow either link to download), but Okkervil River also churns out two other songs that will make my Top 50, “Black” and “The Latest Toughs”, and just give us a great album in general.

14. Everything In Transit - Jack’s Mannequin
Key Track: “The Mixed Tape”
Yes, Jack’s Mannequin is the solo project of Andrew McMahon, the lead singer of Something Corporate. And yes, Something Corporate is lame. But McMahon has put together an album of flawless, pristine pop-punk goodness that was one of the most enjoyable listens of the year. The album opens with the wonderful “Holiday From Real” (as seen on M3 Volume 6), whose opening lyrics (”She thinks I’m much too thin, she asks me if I’m sick”) are creepily prescient, as McMahon would be diagnosed with lukemia shortly after finishing recording the album. However, with the support of thousands of devoted fans from his SoCo days, McMahon’s lukemia is in remission, and the pop-punk community can breathe a sigh of relief. But as for the album itself, it provided the perfect soundtrack for the transition from end of summer to fall. Though the album peaks early in the first half, on the strength of the opening two tracks “Holiday From Real” and the first single “The Mixed Tape”, it’s good from start to finish and is one of the finest pop-punk albums of the past five years.

15. Elevator - Hot Hot Heat
Key Track: “Dirty Mouth”
Though indie elitists might think that the giant red hands controlling the members of Hot Hot Heat like they were marionettes on the album cover is representative of major label executives controlling the band’s sound, but I prefer their new album to their previous works. Though the standout tracks from their previous releases still hold a very special place in my heart, I enjoy their new album all the way through. The first single, “Goodnight Goodnight” was one of the most popular tracks on M3 Volume 1, and became a party hit for the rest of the year, and the rest of the album proved to be just as much fun as that first taste. Unfortunately, when seeing the band live the new tracks don’t hold up to the old material, with the exception of “Island of the Honest Man (which bears the most resemblance to the older songs), but on record this was one of the most enjoyable albums of ‘05.

16. With Love & Squalor - We Are Scientists
Key Track: “Inaction”
(NOTE: Released in the UK in October, and though it doesn’t drop on our side of the pond until next week, I’m including it on the 2005 list since I bought it off import this year).
We Are Scientists was a band first introduced to me by You Ain’t No Picasso (follow the link to see his interview with the band), and then my love for them was reinforced when I first saw one of their videos (their first one, for “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt”) on MTV2 in London (British MTV2 = heaven) last June. The rest of the summer saw me fall further and further in love with the band and their unique brand of humor and herky-jerky indie rock, until I finally gave in and paid too much money for the import of the album (which is finally released in the US on January 10th). However, the price was definitely worth it, as I was exposed to gems like “Inaction”, “This Scene Is Dead”, and “It’s A Hit”, which I would have been hard-pressed to find otherwise. This is really an album full of singles, but when the singles are this good and this catchy it’s hard to complain. Definitely pick this one up when it drops next week.

17. Late Registration - Kanye West
Key Track: “Touch The Sky”
Truth be told, I’m not really a hip-hop fan, let alone a fan of commercial hip-hop. Yes, Jay-Z has dropped some hot tracks that I’ve loved over the years, and Talib’s “Get By” is one of my favorite songs of all time, but Kanye is one of the only acts in hip-hop who consistently delights me with his releases. Though not quite as pristine as 2004 debut, Late Registration presents more of the same flawless production and witty lyrics established on The College Dropout. Though the definite highlight is the remix of “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” featuring one of Jay-Z’s finest verses of all time, “Touch The Sky” is another incredible track, featuring an extremely impressive verse from newcomer (I think) Lupe Fiasco.

18. The Understanding - Royksopp
Key Track: “Only This Moment”
Less of a sequel to 2001’s platinum-selling Melody A.M. and much more of an evolution, The Understanding sees Royksopp adding their own vocals to their songs for the first time, though some of the tracks still feature guest vocalists (most notably Karien Driefer’s stunning vocals on “What Else Is There”). The first two tracks on this album are one of the best one-two punches of the year. The album opens with the beautiful, haunting, and awe-inspiring instrumental track “Triumphant” (as heard on The OC), and is immediately followed by the highlight of the album, first single “Only This Moment”, which marked the first time fans got to hear a Royksopp song featuring the duo’s own vocals. Though this album is really made by the three songs previously mentioned in this summary, the album flows as a whole and the tracks all complement each other quite well, with the glaring exception of second single “49 Percent”, which is legitimately one of my least favorite songs of the year. However, so as not to end on a bad note, I still must highly recommend this album to anyone who’s a fan of electronic music or just interesting music in general.

19. Has A Good Home! -Final Fantasy
Key Track: “This Is The Dream Of Win & Regine”
This is one of the few albums that is making this list solely on the strength of a couple songs. Though the album lags at spots, any lackluster parts are more than made up for by the standout tracks, “The CN Tower Is Dead”, “This Is The Dream”, and “Your Light Is Spent”, all of which are phenomenal and will find their way into the upper echelon of my Top 50 Songs fo ‘05.

20. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
Key Track: “Tribulations”
Hah-OW-OW! I think everything in life would be more interesting if it started with an “OW-OW” before it, as does the signature song and lead single from LCD Soundsystem’s self-titled debut, “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House”. This album could be made on the fact alone that it contains the indie party anthem of the year (The OC agrees), but there’s much more to it than that. The personal highlight for me is the synth-driven “Tribulations”, and James Murphy proves he’s not just a one-trick pony on tracks like the Eno-inspired “Never As Tired As I’m Waking Up”. However, this album places so low on my list (though still in the top 20) because the best material (”Losing My Edge”, “Yeah”) is contained on Disc 2, which compiles all of his releases previous to this formal debut, and those are songs released prior to 2005, thus making this a somewhat ambiguous entry on the lsit.

21. Eye To The Telescope - KT Tunstall
Key Track: “Black Horse And The Cherry Tree”
Tunstall is a UK artist with little to know fame or following in the US, but since when has that held me back from loving an album. I actually first came across Tunstall from my then-girlfriend’s away message, in which “Suddenly I See”, one of the album’s premier tracks, was quoted. After downloading and loving the song, I decided to further investigate and was greatly rewarded for doing so, as Eye To The Telescope is definitely deserving of a spot amongst the year’s best releases. Along with “Suddenly”, the premier track is easily “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree”, a soulful romp ostensibly detailing a woman’s self-discovery. Though the album as a whole is an enjoyable listen all the way through, with the exception of “Suddenly” and “Black Horse”, few of the other songs on the album are terribly innovative or challenging, and as a result certain songs on this album retain their enjoyability much more so than others.

22. Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes
Key Track: “The Denial Twist”
I’ve always been of the opinion that The White Stripes are a singles band, that is, their albums are always much less so a cohesive listening experience than merely a collection of catchy songs all put together in one convenient place. Get Behind Me Satan is for the most part no different, only all of a sudden Jack White discovered the piano. Though the album’s first track and lead single, “Blue Orchid” harkens back to the duo’s previously established power-chord heavy guitar-rock, the rest of the album relies more heavily on the piano than the guitar. Follow-up singles “My Doorbell” and the wonderful “Denial Twist” seem to be completely complementary to each other, as if they’re slightly alternate versions of the same song, and the rest of the album features more of the same simplistic, but still incredibly enjoyable chord-based piano-rock.

23. A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out - Panic! At The Disco
Key Track: “Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Off Her Clothes”
Fall Out Boy + synthesizers = Panic! At The Disco. Which trust me, is not a bad thing at all. However, this album far surpasses Fall Out Boy’s 2005 release, From Under The Cork Tree. The similarity is most present in the nearly identical voices of lead vocalists Brendon Urie (Panic! At The Disco) and Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy), both bands’ extremely long song titles and witty lyrics, but unlike F.O.B., Panic features lots of synthesizers and vaudville pianos. In fact the album is neatly divided into two halves, the first relying on synthesizers and the second replacing the synths with vaudville pianos. A brief intermission track (aptly titled “Intermission”) separates the two halves just after “Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Off Her Clothes” and just before “But It’s Better If You Do” (and if you combine those two song titles you get a clever reference to the movie Closer). All in all, Panic! A The Disco score minimal points for originality, but they deserve credit for recognizing a trend and capitalizing on it, and producing one of the year’s most enjoyable debuts.

24. Let It Die - Feist
Key Track: “Mushaboom”
This would be a lot higher on the list if this were “Derek’s Mother’s Top 25 Albums of 2005″, possibly even contending for the number one spot. I gave this to her for her birthday and she repeatedly called me from the car (which is the only place she listens to music) telling me how wonderful it is. But for those of us who haven’t birthed and raised children into mildly respectable young adults, it’s still a good listen. “Mushaboom” is a masterpiece of a song, worthy of a spot in the top 15 songs of the year, and other singles “One Evening” and Pitchfork-approved “Inside & Out”, as well as album track “Let It Die” are all shining examples of Leslie Feist’s lovely soft-rock-jazz sound. Also, she was voted the number two hottest woman in indie in Stereogum’s poll, beaten out only by the immaculate and incomparable Jenny Lewis, who scored 32% of the votes in comparison to Feist’s 21%.

25a. Feels - Animal Collective
Key Track: “Did You See The Words”
There are people who “get” Animal Collective and their masked on-stage antics, meandering song structures, and often unintelligible lyrics, but I’m pretty sure I’m not one of them. Which is why it’s curious that I enjoy this album so much. The first two songs of this album, “Did You See The Words” and “Grass” are the band’s best and most accessible (although again, “accessible” is relative here) yet, and despite the absolute chaos that characterizes many of the songs, it still somehow works together to form a mildly cohesive listening experience.

25b. The Back Room - Editors
Key Track: “Fingers In The Factories”
Editors are another one of the hot UK buzz bands of 2005, having rocketed up the charts on the strength of singles “Blood” and “Munich”. However, the standout track from this, their debut effort, has to be “Fingers In The Factory”, and if Editors can continue to churn out great tracks like this then expect to be hearing a lot more from them very soon, and maybe we’ll even see them make the often-difficult jump across the pond to US success.

Phew, that legitimately took forever, so sorry for the lull in posts over the last couple of days. I’ll do my best to make up for it with the upcoming 50 best videos and songs of ‘05 lists, after which we’ll return to our usual programming of artist profiles, hot jams, and the upcoming release of M3 Volume 7.

My first list talked about albums I didn’t see or hear nearly enough about in 2005. This list is basically the opposite of that: albums that most people are probably familiar with, and if they aren’t it’s by choice. A lot of these albums won’t be talked much about in the blogs, I kind of consider this a guilty pleasure list of sorts. However, all of these albums are worth looking in to. So here goes: 13 lucky albums that I probably shouldn’t have liked, but definitely did anyway.

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: Paul Wall is a short, white, drawling rapper with more metal in his mouth than a fourteen year old girl.
Why I Do: Somehow it all works; Mr. Wall knows a catchy line and is smarter than most people would give him credit for. After all, dude is a self-made millionaire.
Key Track: Sittin Sidewayz

12. Hot Hot Heat, Elevator

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: “Goodnight Goodnight” was my little sister’s ringtone. Now her ringtone is Natasha Bedingfield.
Why I Do: First, I’m going to pull the “I knew about them before they were on the radio” card for the first time on this list (it’ll come again two more times). Also, the reason these guys made it on to the radio is ’cause they are catchy as hell, and though I would definitely not call this a better album than Make Up The Breakdown, songs like “Goodnight Goodnight” drill their way in to your head and stay there.
Key Track: Goodnight Goodnight

11. The Game, The Documentary

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: Commercial-friendly, G-Unit beefin’ rapper Game is on the cover of this album with his shirt off sitting on huge gold rims, which is the kind of materialistic rap that I generally shy away from.
Why I Do: For one, this is a far better album lyrically than 50 Cent’s Massacre. The beats are memorable, 50’s guest spots mostly outshine his own record, and Game’s tone only seems stronger after listening to all of his 50-dissin’ mixtape cuts.
Key Track: Hate It Or Love It
Bonus MP3: 120 Bars

10. Depeche Mode, Playing The Angel

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: Band that peaked before I was born tries to return to relevance in the modern era by cutting a “return to form” album that some critics see through and others herald as a triumphant recovery… shit is played out.
Why I Do: While it may not be a return to the quality of the Violator days, it definitely sees Depeche Mode circling back to their more ominous background soundscapes, with solid results. Also, this is the first album where lead singer Dave Gahan actually contributed lyrics since the early 80’s, so thats nice to see.
Key Track: Precious

9. Nine Inch Nails, With Teeth

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: Band that peaked when I was in preschool tries to return to relevance in the modern era by cutting a “return to form” album that some critics see through and others herald as a triumphant recovery. See, I told you it was played out.
Why I Do: Trent Reznor is a musical genius no matter what era you’re coming from, and when he comes out with a new album I take notice. A straight-forward, grinding industrial rock record, With Teeth has a few standout tracks. Also, I’m a sucker for bands that do things like encourage remixes by letting anyone who wants to download the parts of their first single and fuck around as they please.
Key Track: The Hand That Feeds

8. Motion City Soundtrack, Commit This To Memory

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: “Intelligent pop-punkers” Motion City Soundtrack make a sophomore album that’s more radio accessible that gets little radio play and is worse than their debut.
Why I Do: Just because Commit This To Memory doesn’t have standout tracks like “My Favorite Accident” doesn’t mean its not a good record in its own right. I’ve always considered MCS to be a little less formulaic than their contemporaries, and they’ve always seemed to have a sense of humor about their records thats kind of refreshing.
Key Track: Resolution
Bonus MP3: My Favorite Accident

7. Acceptance, Phantoms

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: Pop-punk again, and this does one worse: the physical copy I bought had a warning on the back that read something along the lines of “you cannot play this on your computer or your iPod”, which is the kind of major-label touch I can do without.
Why I Do: For the second time this list, I like this record because I liked this band when all they’d released was one EP. One of the stronger songs from that EP, “Permanent”, is reprised here, and there is plenty of catchy pop-punk goodness. It’s an album you need to be in the mood for, but it fills its niche nicely.
Key Track: Different
Bonus MP3: Permanent

6. Ben Folds, Songs for Silverman

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: Ben Folds is a huge dork. He’s got nice thick glasses, a shaggy mop of hair, and a self-deprecating and razor-sharp sense of humor. His songs are honest, funny, and don’t beat around the bush. This is not the kind of album you learn more about with each listen, everything is right there to begin with.
Why I Do: The guy knows how to play a piano, and I love me some piano. Folds can also write a catchy hook, and he wrote plenty for this album. Songs for Silverman was mostly overlooked by the radio for reasons I can’t really figure out (I can never figure out how the radio works), but Ben Folds has been around the block and he knows how to play the music thats expected of him.
Key Track: Landed (Strings Version)

5. Jack’s Mannequin, Everything In Transit

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: Jack’s Mannequin is the side project of Something Corporate frontman Andrew McMahon, who only sort of trades in piano for guitar.
Why I Do: Everything in Transit is an absurdly catchy album, and the few stand out tracks really stand the fuck out. “The Mixed Tape” is one of my ten most played songs on my laptop, and though that is a little hard to admit, I challenge you to download it, listen to it, and not want to listen again.
Key Track: The Mixed Tape

4. Jack Johnson, In Between Dreams

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: The general consensus seems to be that Jack Johnson makes wholly un-challenging and overall boring music with little more than an acoustic guitar and naught but a waver here and there in his voice.
Why I Do: Sometimes you don’t want to be challenged musically, and excepting his previous releases, I can’t think of a better album to put on when you want to ‘hear’ music rather than ‘listen’ to it. This is an album meant to play in the background while you’re sitting in paradise sipping a Corona.
Key Track: No Other Way

3. Fall Out Boy, From Under The Cork Tree

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: “Sugar We’re Going Down” was all over the radio and “Dance Dance” was in video games. It’s hard to find a more commercial pop-punk album in 2005.
Why I Do: Songs are being eaten up by the radio and featured in video games because, to be honest, they’re pretty good songs. Lyrically they’re what you’d expect, but the tunes are catchy enough to keep them in your head for days. The album as a whole holds up surprisingly well to the powerful singles, and I’m not ashamed to admit (okay, maybe a little) that the catchiness caught me.
Key Track: A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me
Bonus MP3: Sugar We’re Going Down
Bonus MP3: Dance Dance

2. Coldplay, X & Y

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: Who isn’t sick of Coldplay this and Coldplay that?
Why I Do: Apparently, nearly 5 million people (myself included) aren’t sick of them, and the reason is this: for all the talks of them being boring and overrated, the truth is that Chris Martin has a great voice and he can write songs that complement that. You won’t find Coldplay claiming to have the best drummer or the best guitarist, but all the parts go together and the songs just work. The whole album is an overall enjoyable listen. I loved Parachutes, I grew to love A Rush Of Blood To The Head, and I am well on my way to loving X & Y as well. The magazine covers proclaiming Coldplay to be the biggest band in the world have to be coming from somewhere.
Key Track: Talk

1. The Receiving End Of Sirens, Between The Heart And The Synapse

Why I Shouldn’t Like It: I don’t really know, it’s definitely more in the punk genre than the indie genre, and this is an indie website. It just seems sort of out of place, but the truth is that this album would easily crack my top ten albums of the year (I took it out of the running because none of the albums in my lists leading up to my overall top 50 were included in the final product).
Why I Do: Not poppy enough for pop-punk. ‘Screamo’ hardly gives them justice. The truth is that this is just a great, catchy album that’s just an overall enjoyable listen. Again, you kind of need to be in a set mood to listen to this album, but I found myself queuing this one up a lot more than I was expecting when I bought it on a whim. Possibly the album that surprised me the most this year, and definitely a find I’m proud of.
Key Track: Planning A Prison Break
Key Track: The Evidence

So the Good Weather For Airstrikes Best of 2005-fest has descended upon us, and things are going to get pretty crazy around here. Rather than the logical assumption that since tomorrow is Christmas posts would fall off for a day or two so Everett and I can get some quality family time, the opposite is in fact true, as I will be using “working on my website” as an excuse to spend less time with my parents, and I’m sure Everett will be doing the same (though I may be wrong, it’s conceivable that not everyone has a family as dysfunctional as the Davies/Williams crew). Anyway, kicking things off was Everett’s “Top 10 Underrated Albums of 2005″ (see the post below), and then below are our “Top 10 Remixes of 2005″, followed closely by Everett’s “13 Albums I Shouldn’t Like But I Do”, and “20 Albums I Didn’t Listen To Enough That Would Make My Best-Of List If I Did” posts, which will be up shortly. Thus you should expect a flurry of updates in the coming days, carrying over into early January and leading up to Evro and I’s individual Best Albums of 2005 posts. So yeah, allow your anticipation to mount and whatnot.

But on to the main event of this post, The Top 10 Remixes of 2005. 2005 was an incredible year for the remix (”Congratulations remixes, you’re having the best year ever!”), as not only did it see countless hot new interpretations of already-hot jams, it also saw to certified awesome remix album’s, Silent Alarm: Remixed (of Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm) and Guerolito (of Beck’s Guero), and one less awesome one, Romance Bloody Romance (of Death From Above 1979’s You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine). Speaking of DFA1979, 2005 also saw one of my favorite remixers, MSTRKRFT, which is made up of one half of DFA’79 (James Keeler) as well as Girls Are Short’s Al-P. MSTRKRFT dropped some particularly hot remixes this year, re-interpreting Annie, DFA1979 (obviously), The Kills, Metric, and many more, but their best work was easily on Bloc Party’s “Two More Years” (see below for more). In fact, it seemed like most remixers really brought their A-game when it came to remixing Bloc Party, as five of our top ten remixes of the year are of Bloc Party songs. However, I’ll save the overanalysis for the individual song writeups.

10. “Chicago” (Jongalloways’ To String Remix) - Sufjan Stevens
EVERETT: If you are of the opinion that “boop-blip” is the new “strum-strum”, this remix is for you. Jongalloway removes everything but Sufjan’s beautiful vocals and builds a backing track from scratch, and one that surprisingly complements Sufjan’s voice quite well. Though this track doesn’t begin to approach the beauty of the original, its definitely an interesting take on one of the year’s best songs.

9. “Helicopter” (Allen’s Breakneck Mix) - Bloc Party
DEREK: Out of nowhere, Portugese DJ “Allen” hit unsuspecting Bloc Party fans with two of the year’s hotter remix, both for Bloc Party’s stand out single “Helicopter”. This one, the “weaker” of the two, stays truer to the original’s frantic, upbeat pace, and is the more club-friendly of the two. However, Allen doesn’t just rehash the original track, rather he speeds the percussion up to hyperspeeds, and in an awesome turn of events, even adds handclaps! Though not quite as good as his Santa Monica Mix (see #7, below), the aptly-named Breakneck Mix is definitely still certified hot.

8. “What Else Is There?” (Trentemoller Remix) - Royksopp
DEREK: This is a true gem of remix, in that it’s got distinct sections, and each part is catcheier and even more entertaining than the last. Anders Trentemoller gets things starter with a simple tecno “boom-bip” beat, eventually surrouned by atmospheric synths, and then moves everything to the back of the mix to highlight Karin Dreifer’s stunning vocals, before bringing the piercing boom-bips back in for the kill, this time accompanying them by a disco beat. Each subsequent verse sees Trentemoller adding new elements of percussion, until everything fades away to those atmospheric synths again, at which point he brings in the simple strumming of an acoustic guitar to accompany Dreifer’s vocals. Finally, in the last quarter of the track, Trentemoller reminds you that this is in fact a techno remix and he turns the strobes backs on, hits you with the percussion, and cuts up the vocals climaxing in a glorious finale before fading out just as discreetly as he came.

7. “Helicopter” (Allen’s Santa Monica Mix) -Bloc Party
DEREK: In the second (and better) of his two “Helicopter” remix, Allen does just the opposite of the Breakneck Mix, slowing everything down to a decidedly relax, more chill pace. Appropriately titled the “Santa Monica” Mix, Allen strips away the frantic, urgent guitars, and replaces them with surprisingly agreeable acoustic guitars. The original track was the kind of song you listened to as you drove 100 miles per hour on the freeway weaving in and out of cars to avoid the police (not that I’ve ever done that, mind you). However, in the remix Allen manages to pull a complete 180 and turn it into the kind of song you listen to as you cruise down Sunset Boulevard with the top down as palm trees drift by on either side, a feat definitely worthy of inclusion in the company of the year’s finest remixes.

6. “The Pioneers” (M83 Remix) - Bloc Party
EVERETT: A remix is supposed to reinvent the original song, and in my opinion no song on Silent Alarm was reinvented better then “Pioneers” was by M83. The track takes one small aspect of the song, a single syllable, and loops it over and over, though its not until over a minute in to the song that you realize the origin of the noise. That moment, about 1:47 in to the song, is one of my favorite musical instants of 2005. The original track was frantic and paranoid, and M83’s reinvention perfectly mixes lyrical optimism with sonic foreboding in to a truly memorable remix in the truest sense of the word.

5. “Heaven Hammer” (Air’s “Missing” Remix) - Beck
EVERETT: The French electronica-lounge duo slow down the track and showcase Beck’s voice rising above a mellow backdrop of strings and lightly pounding percussion. The strength of Beck’s vocals on the track is astonishing; it’s power was lost in the jangling Guero original. Basically, “Heaven Hammer” is the one remix I’ve heard this year that has most vastly improved on the original, and no Beck original tune is poor to begin with. Air did a fantastic job with this remix, and it definitely warrants a spot in the top five of the year.

4. “Two More Years” (MSTRKRFT Remix) - Bloc Party
DEREK: Remixing duo MSTRKRFT drop one of the hottest, most danceable mixes of the year on us with their “Two More Years” remix, offering a completely new, danceable take on the original. MSTRKRFT takes the morose, Joy Division-esque stylings of the original, transplants a dirty, DFA1979-signature guitar riff and a disco beat over it, and voila, welcome to the party. An added bonus are Kele’s new lyrics (”And we cover our lies with handshakes and smiles…”), cut from the original (at least on all the versions I have), which sum up the complacency of a generation and are some of Bloc Party’s finest to date.

3. “Hounds of Love” (Phones’ Wolves At The Door Mix) - The Futureheads
DEREK: Phones (the remixing stage name of UK- producer Paul Epworth) drops his hottest remix since his “Banquet” disco edit, isolating Le Futureheads’ a capella yelps and then surrounding them by synthesizer squiggles, computer glitches, and all around techno-pop glory. After the extended (one minute) “oh, oh-oh” intro, when the “oh-whoa-oh” finally drops you know you’re in for a treat, and Phones doesn’t dissappoint, re-inventing the original into a dance-floor masterpiece. I’m consistently tempted to say this eclipses the original, but then I remember how blissfully flawless it was and just can’t bring myself to pull the trigger and say it. If anyone else has anything by Phones (I just have this and his “Banquet” remix) and would like to share, or at the very least knows where I can find a list of his complete remixing history, I’d be endlessly appreciative.

1b. “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” (Remix ft. Jay-Z) - Kanye West
EVERETT: Kanye’s original Diamonds from Sierra Leone was a good track, featuring the usual Kanye West braggadocio and the even more common Kanye West bitching. Analysis of the lyrics leads one to the obvious conclusion that Mr. West basically made a song about how he didn’t win Grammies and he should have. Jay-Z sees through the bullshit and absolutely hijacks the track on the far superior Diamonds (Remix), dropping one-liners like it’s his job (oh wait, it is). Lines like “had to get off the boat so I could walk on water” and “this ain’t no tall order, this is nothin’ to me / difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week” give way to more frantic rhymes about his struggle to build his rap dynasty, and he ends by bequeathing the rap throne to Kanye. This passing of the torch, similar to when Notorious B.I.G. did the same for Jay on his debut, Reasonable Doubt, is the true power behind the remix: a shift in power atop the rap world, and something tells me Kanye is not about to lose his title as the King of commercial hip-hop. If this weren’t technically Derek’s post I’d make this the undisputed number one in a second.

1a. “Blue Light” (Engineers’ Anti-Gravity Mix) - Bloc Party
DEREK: Now that Everett got his discension out of the way, on to the real number one remix of the year. The premier track from Silent Alarm: Remixed stands alone as the gold standard for remixes, as not only does this remix eclipse the (very good) original, it’s an incredible song in its own right. A testament to this is the fact that not only does it sit victoriously atop the rest of the remixes this year, it also finds a place in the upper tier of my top songs of the year (to be posted in the coming days/week). This is Engineers’ crowning accomplishment as a band so far (as fortunate or unfortunate as that may be for them), and they do an incredible job reinventing the original. Rather than the traditional “take-a-good-song-and-make-it-danceable” remixing approach, Engineers’ strip down the song, remove the guitars, add some atmospheric synths, and put a beautiful xylophone line over everything, thus rendering the “anti-gravity” title perfectly appropriate for the song. When all the instruments fade away at the end of the song and all were left with is that pristine xylophone line, nothing else matters for a few fleeting seconds.

So after the inner-site discension about what this year’s best remix was, what do you think. Is it Jay’s passing of the torch to ‘Ye on “Diamonds”, or Engineers’ flawless reinvention of an already near-perfect Bloc Party track? Or conversely, if you have a fantastic remix you think we overlooked (which is highly conceivable considering the frequent scarcity of b-side only remixes), tell us. Discuss/share in the comments (or make me look lame and don’t).

[UPDATE: Blogger is randomly inserting HTML code all over this post, so there is a chance that it looks far worse than it was designed to. It looks different in Firefox than it does in Safari, apparently it looks really messed up on a PC running Internet Explorer, and the album covers were misaligned when I checked in NetNewsWire so if you’re reading this in an RSS reader it may look awful, and for all this formatting issues I apologize. If you have a Mac, try checking out the post in Safari, it looks perfect there and nowhere else. I really have no clue how this happened and it’s very frustrating. That said, try and enjoy the music regardless, that is what this site is about after all. Thanks for your tolerance.]

First off: I am an album person. I prefer listening to albums straight through, I’ve never been a huge fan of singles, and I’m old-fashioned enough to still consider a music video to be an advertisement for the album as a whole. Some people prefer songs (Derek, for example), some people prefer the album in its entirety, its really just a matter of opinion. This personal preference of mine is the basic reason that all the end-of-year lists I’ll be putting up here on Good Weather for Airstrikes will be albums, not songs or singles or music videos. The first list up here is what I would consider to be 10 albums that won’t be making my favorites list but that I would definitely consider worthy of checking out. These albums all came out in 2005 to much less fanfare than I believe they deserved. Again, this is an extremely subjective list, as I had to judge both what albums I liked AND what albums I felt were underappreciated in the blogosphere. The following is the result (with an mp3 [yes, it actually is an mp3, not an m4a… I converted them for YOU] for each album, of course).

The Joggers, With a Cape and a Cane
I don’t really know too much about this band, and I couldn’t find any information on their website, so I’ll just give you the limited information that I do know: Pitchfork gave this album, the bands second, a very solid 8.3 rating, describing it as ‘consistent’ and ‘a solid indie rock record’. Downloadable below is the first track on the album, which is my personal favorite song.

The Joggers, Ziggurat Traffic

13 & God, 13 & God
This band is a collaboration between Germany’s The Notwist and California rap group Themselves. Though you may not think this sounds like a recipe for success, and at first listen you may be ready to affirm your thoughts, further sonic investigation leads to a truly unique sound that will inexplicably get itself stuck in your head. Overall a good experience, and definitely worth the time it takes to ‘get it’.
13 & God, Tin Strong

Goldfrapp, Supernature
Allison Goldfrapp’s triumphant return to the dance-y scene glam scene somehow seemed to slip criminally under the radar of most music bloggers, and anybody who missed out on Supernature ’cause they were too busy hopping the Annie bandwagon (or worse, the Robyn bandwagon) should be ashamed. This stunning young lady makes me want to la la far more than Ashlee Simpson ever did.
Goldfrapp, Ooh La La

Cage, Hell’s Winter
Cage is white “demonic shock-rapper” (says Pitchfork). The ‘Fork also calls Hell’s Winter a “revelation”; as it sees Cage rapping about his own life, which is plenty harrowing to the average person. On this disc Cage also got help from some big-name producers, including RJD2, who made “Shoot Frank”, a track featuring Darryl Palumbo, frontman of Glassjaw and GWFAS fave Head Automatica.
Cage, Shoot Frank (f. Darryl Palumbo)

Wilderness, Wilderness
Any band signed to the fantastic Jagjaguwar label (home of Okkervil River) is expected to be good, and Wilderness does not disappoint. As if that wasn’t enough to get me psyched about Wilderness, the band is set to play shows with one of my favorite bands, Explosions in the Sky. Hailing from Baltimore, MD, the hard-working band is already finishing up a sophomore album for Jagjaguwar.
Wilderness, Arkless

Audible, Sky Signal
This band has kind of a history. It started as a solo project that added members. They played a show opening for Bright Eyes. The band disbanded (very punny, eh?) when the two members joined matt pond PA (meh). The guys left matt pond PA, restarted Audible, played a show (opening for matt pond PA), and now are being heralded as Philadelphia’s answer to Death Cab for Cutie by me.
Audible, October Song

Teenage Fanclub, Man-Made
This band entered the studio for the first time 6 months and a few days after my first birthday, and thats a little bit off-putting. Lord knows I haven’t produced much in the past seventeen years, but Teenage Fanclub has gone through quite a lot and put out more than a couple good albums. For some reason, probably the age gap, the blogs aren’t really eating this one up, but they should be.
Teenage Fanclub, It’s All In My Mind

Ladytron, Witching Hour
I just posted a track by this band a little while ago here, and the one I posted (”International Dateline”) is my favorite from this album. Instead of posting it again below, I’m going to post the single from the album that everybody seems to like more than “International Dateline” anyway. If you like girls and electronic music you should like Ladytron. This is an all-around good comeback for the band, and deserves some more hype.
Ladytron, Destroy Everything You Touch

Black Mountain, Black Mountain
The second Jagjaguwar band on this list, which should let you all know how underrated I feel Jagjaguwar to be. Black Mountain hails from Canada, but they still deserve our respect. Those that know of Black Mountain consider them to be a “next big thing” type of deal, which may have something to do with their touring with Coldplay. To those of you Coldplay haters, Black Mountain, sounds nothing like Coldplay.
Black Mountain, Druganaut

The Perishers, Let There Be Morning
Though this post has been done mostly out of order, this is probably my favorite album on this list and in my opinion one of the more underrated albums of the year. It’s funny, cause this band was on some O.C. Mix or something and they had a song played on an episode, you’d think they’d at least get mentioned, but I guess not. If everyone listens to these two songs, that should change.

The Perishers, Sway
The Perishers, Trouble Sleeping

So there you have it, ten of the more underrated albums of 2005 as chosen by me and solely me, a list that probably nobody will totally agree with. The basic goal here was to expose the readership to some new music, and hopefully I accomplished that. Coming up next from me: “13 Albums from 2005 That I Shouldn’t Like but I Do Anyway”.

Until next time.

Coming in March 2006, Mogwai’s new full-length, Mr. Beast, is widely heralded as a return to form for the post-rock group. The band’s label, Matador Records, has this to say on their website:

Though there are still hints aplenty of subtle beauty that adorned big chunks of Rock Action and Happy Songs for Happy People, there are an equal portion of headcrushers on this one that will leave you gasping for air. Particularly if you’ve been wearing a plastic bag over your face (which we do not recommend, by the way).

Produced in Glasgow at Mogwai’s Castle of Doom studio, Mr. Beast sees Mogwai consciously trying to remove themselves from the “quiet-loud/quiet-loud” formula. Says guitarist and vocalist Stuart Braithwaite, “we had begun to realise that there was a big difference between our live shows and our records, and there was no real reason for that. We wanted to make a record that we were going to enjoy playing live.” Two songs from the album, which leaked about a week and a half ago, can be downloaded below.

Mogwai, Auto Rock
The album opener, “Auto Rock” starts as a mellow piano introduction to the album that slowly gives way to pounding drums and forceful guitar.

Mogwai, Acid Food
This track features a country-tinged steel guitar and hushed vocals, but the clear processed drum beat in the background keeps it from taking the completely shocking turn (for Mogwai) in to straight country.

Early buzz around this album has been positive, though I do feel it leans more towards to mellow side of Mogwai. Braithwaite and co.’s decision to distance themselves from the “quiet-loud/quiet-loud” formula they’s so mastered was a definite positive, as it lead most of their songs to start slower and end stronger, creating Sigur Ros-esque masterworks of sonic progression. This album, especially “Acid Food”, is absolutely a departure of sorts from Mogwai’s older works, and should serve to reassure the bands fanbase that Mogwai is still far from peaking and even farther from becoming complacent with their music.

FINAL UPDATE: I just found the video for “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)”, which I’ve basically been looking for forever, so I uploaded that also. It’s quite good, from the same animation team that did The Shins’ “So Says I” video, Plates Animation.

UPDATE: Everything is uploaded now, but when you download the songs they’ll show up in your iTunes with the album classified as “Top 17 Songs of 2005″, which is a mere typo, and should instead read “2004″. I’m sorry if this error ruined anyone’s day. But yes, Top 16 of ‘04 below, read on.

So I’m sure you’re probably all thinking, “Omgz doesnt he kno that its 2005?!?1!1!”, and the answer is yes, I’ve been aware of that for roughly 12 months now, but that’s besides the point. In anticipation of the year-end Best-of-’o5-list-blowout that will be descending upon you all beginning this weekend and continuing into next week, I am posting my Top 16 Songs of 2004. “Why?” you ask. Because I didn’t have a blog this time last year. But more importantly, because with a year to put everything in perspective, it becomes more clear what were actually the top songs of 2004, as you realize what songs really had the staying power to remain just as incredible in late 2005. This originally began as my Top 10 Songs of 2004, but I had to expand the list to 16 due to the fact that I just couldn’t bring myself to cut some of these songs. Also, because there are only 16 songs (well actually 17 due to the Saul Wiliams two-piece) and they are all the best of 2004, this makes an absolutely incredible mix CD, so if you choose to you could view this as M3 “Best of 2004″ Edition. But without further adieu, my Top 16 Songs of 2004 (artwork displayed is either the single artwork for the song, or if the song was not released as a single, just the artwork of the album the song was taken from).

NOTE: “Banquet” would be near the top of this list [it was originally released on the Bloc Party EP], but the re-released version on Silent Alarm eclipses it so look for it instead at the top (on top?) of the 2005 songs list, out soon.

16. “Beating Heart Baby” - Head Automatica ~ Head Automatica is a band that got consistently overlooked by the indie community due to lead singer Daryl Palumbo’s hardcore/emo roots (Palumbo also fronts hardcore band Glassjaw), but in 2004 Palumbo teamed up with Handsome Boy Modeling School beat-maker Dan the Automator (who also produced/dropped the beats on the Gorllaz’ Demon Days) to form Head Automatica, and with “Beating Heart Baby” the duo proved that they could take on anyone else with a synthesizer and a dream. And there’s cowbell.

Video: “Beating Heart Baby” - Head Automatica

15. “Lua” - Bright Eyes ~ Conor Oberst released “Lua”, along with “Take It Easy (Love Nothing)”, as the first single off of his incredible acoustic/folk album I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, last October, giving thousands of fans a sneak preview of what would be his finest album to date. The song details Oberst’s adjustment to his new life in New York City, having grown up in Omaha, Nebraska, where his record label, Saddle Creek, is based. Also, the song brilliantly uses a poetic technique similar to the “The Trapeze Swinger”, as every verse ends comparing the difference in mindset between a drunken evening and a sober morning.

Video: “Lua” - Bright Eyes

14. “The Power Is On” - The Go! Team ~ There’s so much controlled chaos on this song I almost don’t know what to do with myself. I can’t decide if I’m at a Southern college drumline showdown with cheerleaders facing off in the forefront, or I’m driving the getaway car after a rushed bank robbery and there’s money flying out of the back of the fan as the police gain ground on us. Industrial percussion with piano and trumpets and god knows what else come together in a most holy union of noise and chaos to create one of the bangin-est jams of 2004, narrowly edging out “Huddle Formation” as the hottest track off of The Go! Team’s ‘04 UK debut.

13. “List of Demands (Reparitions)”/“Black Stacey” - Saul Williams ~ The two most important hip-hop songs of 2004, though you’d have no idea from radio play, weren’t found on Kanye’s debut (The College Dropout) or Jay Z’s curtain call (The Black Album), rather they came from Saul Williams self-titled 2004 release. On “List of Demands”, Williams attacks our nations figureheads and calls for changes in racial relations in society (”I ain’t afraid of you. I’m just a victim of your fears. You cower in your tower praying that I’ll disappear. I got another plan, one that requires me to stand…”) over a vicious industrial synth line and intense percussion. “Black Stacey” opens with dramatic piano and Williams rapping about adolescent pillow-humping and his teenage insecurities about his skin color (”I think I’m too black, I think I’m too black”), but becomes an attack on blacks who embrace the “black thug” stereotype (”Now here’s a message for you, all your baller-thugs got some insecurities too”). Both songs provided a much needed shot in the arm to a hip-hop genre that had devolved into nothing more than name-dropping and big-upping over a catchy beat, and though it was Kanye who got all the credit from the media for his conscientious lyrics (see: “All Falls Down”), it was Saul who did it first.

Video: “List of Demands (Reparations)” - Saul Williams

12. “Portions For Foxes” - Rilo Kiley ~ The seminal track from Rilo Kiley’s third album, More Adventurous, finds Jenny Lewis further cementing her role as the clear-cut queen of indie rock, as she manages to nail the basic feeling of every relationship that’s ever gone wrong. Also, this is the song most likely to jumpstart Lewis and co’s ascension from indie elite to billboard success, as this song has seen success on mtvU as well as on tour when the band opened for Coldplay this past fall. What makes this song so special is the way its universally applicable, as anyone whose ever had a relationship go awry can relate to this in one way or another. Unfortunately the rest of More Adventurous could not quite live up to the glory that was “Portions” or even the consistent quality that was achieved on 2002’s The Execution of All Thing, but “Portions” showed everyone what Rilo Kiley was capable of and previewed their impending takeover of mainstream indie rock.

Video: “Portions For Foxes” - Rilo Kiley

11. “Goods (All In Your Head)” - Mates of State ~ The point where the “bah-bah-bah-bahs” explode into a “wa-oh-oh!” at the beginning of this song (the 0:22 mark to be exact) is one of my favorite musical moments of the past year, and the rest of the song is just as fantastic. Husband and wife duo Kori Gardner (on keys and vocals) and Jason Hammel (on drums and vocals) play off each others voices to create a wonderful playful sing-song effect, and you just can’t help but to smile when you hear this song, as it’s just an extremely enjoyable experience from start to finish.

Video: “Good (All In Your Head” (Original Version) - Mates of State
Video: “Goods (All In Your Head)” (Dance Version) - Mates of State

10. “Homemade Bombs In The Afternoon” - A.C. Newman ~ It’s interesting that Newman’s best track of 2004, and the best of his career (including his New Pornographers work) to that point was a track that wasn’t even included on his debut solo album, The Slow Wonder, but rather was a b-side that only saw the light of day on a Matador Records rarities compilation and as an iTunes exclusive single. “Homemade Bombs” is somehow even more awesome than its name suggests, as everyone’s favorite Carl (with the obvious exception of Winslow) sings over tambourine shakes and guitars played in reverse, before dropping it like it’s hot with a lovely guitar solo at the 1:49 mark. I can’t exactly discern the lyrics and tell you what it’s about, but with a rhythm section as addictive as this, it’s hard to worry about the lyrical content.

9. “Passing Afternoon” - Iron & Wine ~ The final track on Sam Beam’s best album, Our Endless Numbered Days, “Passing Afternoon”, specifically the lyric, “There are things that slip away, like our endless numbered days”, perfectly captures the feeling one has when they never want something to end but know it has to, as can be the situation in a relationship or simply just in the case of the ephemeral bliss of summer. This song was meant to be listened to by someone sitting on the front porch of their house at dusk, sipping lemonade and gazing out onto the natural beauty of summertime. This song will also hold special meaning for anyone whose ever had to countdown the days before they leave someone they love, and is just an awe-inspiringly beautiful song to behold and listen to from the start all the way until the subtly beautiful piano line that closes out the song comes to an end.

8. “Me and Mia” - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists ~ On first listen “Me and Mia” is simply an awesome, awesome, catchy-as-shit pop-rock song, but further review reveals that there is much more to it than that. “Me and Mia” was recently propelled from the “awesome song” category to “amazing lyrical masterpiece” and “best of 2004″ status, and also earned the title “best and happiest song about eating disorders ever” upon Zack Friendly informing me what the song is really about. We all knew Leo could right compellingly political anti-Bush lyrics, but turns out he’s not just a one trick pony, as the “me and Mia, Ann and Ana” chorus actually refers to eating disorders ( the “me and Mia, Ann and Anna” chorus actually is referring to bulemia and anorexia (”me and [bule]mia, Ann and ana[rexia]”). This insight brings new meaning (or just, you know, the correct meaning) to the rest of the lyrics (”fighting for the smallest goal to gain a little self-control, won’t anybody here just let you dissappear”) and really ties the whole song together neatly. But looking past the exact literal meaning of the song, the general message is jut wonderful and Mr. Leo gives us words to live by: “Do you believe in something beautiful, then get up and be it”.

Video: “Me and Mia” - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

7. “Hounds of Love” - The Futureheads ~ While I didn’t seem to consistently enjoy The Futureheads self-titled debut as much as the rest of the world, I am and always have been able to appreciate the pure bliss that is “Hounds of Love”, the album’s centerpiece. “Hounds” breathes new life into the Kate Bush classic and even eclipses the original, flawlessly exemplifying The Futureheads brand of a capella-tinged dance rock, from it’s “oh oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh” intro all the way to it’s infectiously anthemic choruses.

Video: “Hounds of Love” - The Futureheads
Bonus MP3: “Hounds of Love” (Phones’ Wolves At The Door Mix) - The Futureheads

6. “Admit It!” - Say Anything ~ Say Anything are generally pigeonholed as a generic punk rock band by those who won’t give them a chance, but a simple listen to their 2004 debut, Say Anything Is A Real Boy shows that they are really much more than that. Lead singer Max Bemis is a lyrical mastermind (Drive Thru Records offered him a solo recording contract when he was still in 8th grade), and nowhere is this more apparent then on the album’s closing track, “Admit It!!!”, an outraged rant and call to arms against the indie elitist hipster community in which he calls out those aforementioned hipsters that would so likely dismiss Say Anything’s brand of post-emo as nothing more than punk-emo. While this is not a typical Say Anything song, with it’s spoken word elements and long running time, it is a musical and lyrical accomplishment that should not be overlooked when looking at the highlights of 2004. To read the brilliant lyrics go here.

5. “Retreat! Retreat!” - 65 Days Of Static ~ With the words, “We will not retreat, this band is unstoppable!” (a Matt Dillon sample from 1992’s grunge film Singles), post-rock juggernauts 65 Days Of Static (sometimes spelled 65DaysOfStatic) are off and shredding, taking the listener on a 4 minute adventure they won’t soon forget. Seemlessly melding ferocious guitar riffs, drum n’ bass beats, live drums, and computer glitches, 65 Days Of Static create a masterpiece of controlled noise that is equal parts viciously euphoric, mind-blowingly frenetic, and really, really loud.

4. “Staring At The Sun” - TV On The Radio ~ Though I prefer the Young Liars EP version with its wonderful a capella intro, “Staring At The Sun” remains a true masterpiece, both musically and lyrically. Vocalist Tunde Adebimpe croons smoothly about the fragile relationship between creation and destruction over a “massive, industrial synth line, which– like God, or a skyline– humbled and inspired anyone who came near it” (Pitchfork). Adebimpe’s vocals coalesce beautifully with the supporting vocals of the rest of the band, and their voices blend flawlessly over one another as well as with the urgent percussion in the background. Lyrically, the song discusses the relationship between sex (life/creation) and death, and the blatant sexual overtones speak to the idea of La Petite Mort, that an orgasm brings one as close to clarity and God as they ever will be again until they are dying or near-death.

Video: “Staring At The Sun” - TV On The Radio
Bonus MP3: “Staring At The Sun” - The Subways

3. “Seventeen Years” - Ratatat ~ “I been rappin’ for about seventeen years, okay?”… From the opening monologue to the flawless, soaring guitar solos around the mid-way point, to the most-thunderous basslines and power chords maybe ever, “Seventeen Years” is the single greatest party anthem of all time. This is another track first introduced to me by Lizzy as her favorite song of 2004, specifically the guitar solo that begins at the 1:03 mark of the song, and this song is just ridiculously enjoyable. Also: one time when my friends and I were all kinds of not sober we thought up the most incredible music video for this song, involving robots escaping from an evil factory, which can only mean bonus points for the song. Pitchfork summed it up perfectly when they wrote that “Seventeen Years” is “the sound of hip-hop, rock, and Nintendo perfectly co-existing”.

2. “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” - Arcade Fire ~ This song is flawless, a masterful composition worthy of infinite praise, and was far and away the best song of ‘04, until I remembered that “The Trapeze Swinger” was released (though not on an album) in the same year. So, unfortunately “Power Out” is relegated to the number two spot on the list, but could easily be the best song of the year in any other year (except, you know, if that year happened to be 2005, and it had to compete with “Banquet”). Long story short though, the song is incredible. The instant the urgent percussion bombards you in the opening seconds of the song, you know you either need to buckle up and get ready for the ride or just let everything go and rock out. This song is also an unlikely dancefloor hit, and if you really want to get the indie kids rocking out, spin this one on the record player. Seriously, this song is just a five-minute, balls-to-the-wall joyride, and seeing this song live in January caused me to nearly have a seizure. External rock-ability aside, the song is an incredible call to arms to the youth of society (”Kids are swinging from the power lines”) to overcome the disenchantment of suburban life and the indifference that is plaguing modern society (”Ice has covered up my parents hands, don’t have any dreams don’t have any plans. Growin’ up in some strange storm, nobody’s cold, nobody’s warm”). Win screams out to the youth of society “What’s the plan?!”, begging them to overcome the indifference of their elders. The urgency of this song (specifically the caucophonous percussion) perfectly reflects the urgency of the subject matter, and everything comes together to form what is definitely the best-song-of-2004-had-Trapeze-Swinger-not-also-been-released-in-2004.

Video: “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” - Arcade Fire
Bonus MP3: “Power Out” (Original Version/August Session) - Arcade Fire

1. “The Trapeze Swinger” - Iron & Wine ~ Sam Beam’s finest work to date, his Mona Lisa if you will, “The Trapeze Swinger” is an absolute epoch, clocking in at 9 minutes and 31 seconds with lyrics that would not be out of place in a book of beautiful poetry. Operating with an interesting poetic technique in which every verse begins with the same “Please remember me…” refrain, Beam’s ambiguously autobiographical lyrics are the best he’s ever brought to the table. “Trapeze Swinger” is a beautifully epic song; it speaks to the bittersweet nostalgic feeling of being alive and exposed to all of the joy and tragedy in the world, viewed through the lens of the effects of the passage of time on relationships and moments that we can never relive. If I were to die tomorrow, which y’know, hopefully won’t happen, this is what I would want played at my funeral.

A) Finals are over and I’m on winter break, so expect both the post quantity and quality to increase dramatically (I can hear the cheering in the streets now. B) This is probably my favorite post I’ve made so far, simply because Royksopp is so unrelentlessly awesome, so do read on.

I feel as if the electronica music genre is vastly under-represented in the blogging scene, and to hopefully bring a change to that I’ll be drawing attention to some of my favorite electronica artists in the coming weeks (after the massive Best of ‘05 blowout), starting off with my favorite electronica act, Royksopp. Royksopp, made up of Norwegians Svein Berge (left) and Torbjorn Brundtland (right), is quite possibly Norway’s finest export, and have quickly jumped ahead of Four Tet, Caribou, and the rest of the pack as my favorite electronic act.

Royksopp’s brand of oft-blissful, sometimes dark electronica was first played for me by my former girlfriend Lizzy when I visited her in London last spring and she played me “Eple”, from the duo’s 2001 debut Melody AM. It was the perfect song for springtime, and as I would come to find out, summertime, sunshine, happiness, frivolity, whimsy, and any and all activities involving conscious-altering activities (seriously, if anyone wants to know what it’s like to trip on ’shrooms [I tried it once, it was Amsterdam, I was young, it was awesome], just listen to “Eple”). The drug-like high that comes from listening to “Eple” on a sunny day should come as no surprise though, as Royksopp literally translates into “Smoking Mushroom” in Norwegian. “Eple” is an absolute masterpiece, and was even licensed by Apple for use in the start-up sequence of Apple’s Mac OS X Panther operating system (ironically, or just fittingly, “Eple” means “Apple” in Norwegian). However, at some point I’m going to have to stop raving about “Eple”, lest you get the opinion that Royksopp are some sort of one-hit wonder, as “Eple” is only the tip of the blissful electro-pop iceberg that is Royksopp.

After “Eple” became my official song of spring and early summer, I heard “Only This Moment”, the first single off of the duo’s then-upcoming sophomore effort, The Understanding, which was released on July 12th. This resulted in a week spent doing nothing but lying on the beach listening to the track (and forcing all my friends to listen to as well). The Understanding takes Royksopp’s sound in a new direction, as the duo brings their own vocals into the mix (Melody AM was comprised of only instrumentals and tracks featuring guest vocals), and any worries about this change were allieved by the blissful perfection of “Only This Moment”. “Moment”, as well as the album’s opener, “Triumphant” (which was used in the fourth episode of this season’s installment of The OC), stand out as two of the year’s best songs, and will surely be present on my year-end Best Songs of ‘05 list.

Finally, perhaps Royksopp’s most attractive trait to me (and probably only to me), is their penchant for releasing incredible music videos. In addition to the videos of Sigur Ros and The White Stripes, Royksopp’s music videos are some of the most consistently-amazing clips around, and in 2002 the duo’s video for “Remind Me” was even awarded MTV Europe’s “Video of the Year” award. You can download all of Royksopp’s videos, with the exception of their clip for “49 Percent” (in the unlikely event that any of you out there have this video, I’d be severely indebted to you if you could send it to me), below, in addition to all of the [highly recommended] MP3s. The best of the bunch is definitely the perfect “Only This Moment” video, an absolutely incredible World War II-era propaganda clip featuring incredible effects and beautiful cinematography. This is easily my second-favorite video of the year (just behind “Glosoli” and just ahead of “Blue Orchid”), so please download it, you won’t regret it (especially if, you know, you’re high at the time when you watch it… just sayin’). Other highlights include the aforementioned “Remind Me” video, the band’s adorable, yet still awesome, clip for “Poor Leno”, as well as the fantastic video for the duo’s most recent single “What Else Is There?”, featuring vocals from Karin Dreifer, the lead vocalist in Swedish brother-sister electronic duo and Gorilla vs Bear favorite, The Knife.

MP3s:
“Eple” - Royksopp [highly highly recommended]
“The Understanding” - Royksopp [highly recommended]
“Only This Moment” - Royksopp [OC-approved!]
“What Else Is There?” - Royksopp ft. Karin Dreifer

Video:
“Eple” - Royksopp
“Poor Leno” - Royksopp [highly recommended]
“Remind Me” - Royksopp [2002 MTV2 Europe “Video of the Year”]
“Only This Moment” - Royksopp [highly highly recommended]
“What Else Is There?” - Royksopp [highly recommended]

I’m also going to use this post to place a request to all of you readers out there, to see if any of you have Royksopp’s iTunes-exclusive single “Curves”, which I am desperately after, but due to it’s UK-only release, cannot find. So yeah, if anyone had that I think I’d be a lot happier person.

[side note: GvB has not only the Imogen Heap song from Narnia (the one they play at the end that, well, sounds a lot like Imogen Heap), “Can’t Take It In”, for download here, he also has a new Belle & Sebastian song from The Life Pursuit that somehow I didn’t have on my leaked version of the album, “We Are The Sleepyheads”, which you can get here.]

NOTE: I meant to post this two days ago when the Decemberists/Capitol news broke on Pitchfork, but I kind of got bogged down by working/sleeping, so bare with me.

Today was a big day for Pitchfork readers (well for me at least), as Pitchfork not only broke the “exlusive” news that The Decemberists have signed with Capitol Records, but they also announced their top five music videos of the year (as well as their top five live performances).

First is the news regarding The Decemberists signing to Capitol. This has been the subject of much speculation in the indie community for a while, and I think this is a great move for The Decemberists, especially after seeing Death Cab benefit from such a transition. However, I’m not sure that The Decemberists’ breed of whimsical lit-rock is necessarily conducive to massive commercial success (unlike Death Cab and Modest Mouse before them), as it’s hard to imagine things ever getting to a point where 13 year-old girls are screaming along to Meloy’s choruses about chimneysweeps, legionnaires and pantaloons. Also announced is the fact that lead singer Colin Meloy and company will be returning to the studio next spring with Chris Walla to work on the follow-up to last spring’s fantastic Picaresque, a definite top-ten record of 2005 in my opinion. To celebrate all of this I would like to post the Colin Meloy solo show (Live @ Schuba’s Tavern, January 19, 2005) that had been on You Ain’t No Picasso a while back, but I don’t know how to upload a .zip or .rar file to ezarchive, so if anyone wants to enlighten me I will gladly do it (this will also allow me to post future M3s as one big .zip or .rar file, as has been requested by multiple readers). So for now I’ll just be posting the band’s fantastic Wes Anderson-esque (read: Rushmore-esque) video for their latest single, “16 Military Wives”.

Video: “16 Military Wives” - The Decemberists [highly recommended]

ALSO, Pitchfork announced their top 5 live performances and music videos of the year today, but what is most of interest to me is the music videos portion of the article. My top five videos differ drastically from there’s, and the only one of their’s, M83’s “Don’t Save Us From The Flames” that I would even consider including in my top 25 (which will come closer to Christmas, completely downloadable). However, I’ll be letting you decide for yourself as I have four of them on my computer that I am making available for you to download, and I can link you to where you can watch the other one. Here’s what Pitchfork said and below are my thoughts.

Video:
“I Gave You” - Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’ ~ Well if this were an award for the most hauntingly dramatic video of the year, “I Gave You” would win hands down, with an excellent performance from Will Oldham portraying the pain and mental anguish of a broken man pushed over the edge. All is fine and well but the plodding pace of the video is not justified by the not-terribly-suprising “twist” at the end and this one probably won’t make my top 25 (or top 15, I haven’t yet decided) music videos of the year, but a well-shot clip nonetheless.

“Cold Hands (Warm Heart)” - Brendan Benson ~ This is a great video, my second-favorite on this list after M83’s clip, in which stick figures frolic about as Benson and co. play in the background. At first the figures prance about keyboardist (and Waxwings’ frontman) Dean Fertita’s twinkly keyboard line, but things soon turn dark and tragic for all of the stick figures, finally culminating in a wasteland of stick-figure death to close out the clip.

“Don’t Save Us From The Flames” - M83 ~ The best of the bunch, French technowizard M83’s video for “Don’t Save Us From The Flames”, perfectly captures the angst and awkward tribulations of everyday teenage life (over synthesized moans of “teeeeeeen loooooove